Mayor Harris schedules community meeting Friday

Russellville Mayor Richard Harris has scheduled a meeting for 9 a.m. Friday at City Hall, located at 203 S. Commerce Ave., to discuss how the community addresses issues relating to hate groups.

“I’ve taken criticism from people because they said I have been silent, but I have been talking to our local police chief, sheriff, the Arkansas Municipal League,” he said. “I’ve been visiting with our local legislators about this issue. I have some ideas on what to do and I want to present it to the community in a non-confrontational way.

“We are going to talk about how we as a community need to address these issues to say we are not the community these groups represent, then form a plan of action to move forward. This is what we need to do to demonstrate we are a community united and they don’t represent us. We can have a calm rational discussion as to what we do as a community.”

A group of White Nationalists carried Nazi flags and shouted racial slurs throughout the May 5 March of Remembrance, an event designed to honor survivors and those who died in the Holocaust, at the Depot Park in downtown Russellville.

Mayor Harris came under criticism in Russellville nearly two weeks ago when he consciously chose to participate in an anti-Christian rally supporting the ADL and other outside agitators, many of whom were unsuccessfully seeking to pressure and intimidate Arkansas Tech University. This comment has been hidden due to low approval.

Beware your plans of action. Remember The Waltons' episode when John Boy Walton pulled the Bible from the fire at an anti-Nazi book burning frenzy. The Bible had been mistakenly thrown into the fire because it was in German. Your hatred of things Nazi is no less hateful than the Nazis' hatred.This comment has been hidden due to low approval.

I, as the organizer of the " March of Remembrance" will be present tomorrow at this meeting. I hope there is more support at this meeting than we have received the past 5 years at the March.This comment has been hidden due to low approval.

We understand that the authorities did everything they were able to within the law at our March, and we appreciate that. The church was told they were coming, and were begged to come. They did not, except for a few. THAT would have made Rville look better! This comment has been hidden due to low approval.

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